The King of Crows
by Daeneyr
Summary: Kageyama is cursed by his Junior high teammates and must struggle with hiding this curse from his new teammates, and his friend Hinata, who are a lot more attentive than they appear.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is an Alternate AU from the original Haikyu, but it follows somewhat the main attitudes of the characters and etc, no gender bending. These are the same characters you know and love just a different storyline :)

It goes into Kageyama's backround a little bit in this chapter and kinda gives a reason why he is always frowning...

Yeah, don't hate me. I'm updating as fast as possible, considering I'm a very busy college student!

* * *

The squeak of shoes on the ground, the smell of sweat, air salonpas, and ambition, the feel of the ball leaving his palm. It was all so right, so _perfect._ He had calculated exactly where the ball would go, whose hands it would touch next. While he was on the court, he was alive. He was a god.

It wasn't until he heard the ball hit the court that he realized. The whistle of the referee, the flipping of the scoreboard in the opponents favor. It couldn't be right. Kageyama's eyes shook while he slowly turned around, eyes wide with fear. Behind him was no one, only a ball slowly bouncing and rolling across the empty court. The cheering stopped, the smells dissipated, and when Kageyama turned his head and looked, the entire court was empty. Everyone had disappeared. He fell to his knees, head in hand, eyes watering.

How can I be a god if there is no one here?

I'm only King of the court by default now.

* * *

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". The shower felt so good after the kind of day he had. He had finally managed to secure himself a place in a high school in the country with a volleyball scholarship. He was not exceptionally gifted in schoolwork, with the exception of physics of motion, and as such he was limited in schools he could get into. Because of his mess up in junior high, most of his volleyball scholarships had been rescinded and so his family had to pay for him to go to high school at the local college, which he had attended for the first two semesters of Junior High. Despite Kageyama being the "King of the Court" in volleyball, in real life his family had very little money. It was a volleyball scholarship that paid for him to go to a powerhouse like Kitagawa Daichii, and he had hoped that a volleyball scholarship would have gotten him through the rest of his education as well. Not only was Kageyama's family poor, but they also disliked him a lot. He lived with his father and his stepmother. His mother had left him with his father at a very young age and left, and because he looked like his mother, his father hated him. Maybe he blamed Kageyama for what happened. Regardless, his treatment of his son was regularly less than kind. His stepmother also disliked him, because she did not like that he wasn't her child. He constantly felt like a visitor in his own home.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sound of knocking echoed through the bathroom.

"Hey boy! Get out of the shower. I need to use the bathroom." Kageyama's father called out.

"Yes, Father." Kageyama called as he turned off the water and pulled a towel off of the towel rack next to the shower. He quickly dried his hair and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"Come on! I don't have all day! Are you putting on your makeup or something?!"

Kageyama pulled open the door, shivering at the cool air outside of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry I took so long." Kageyama looked towards the floor and began to try getting around his father, who was blocking the doorway. His father grabbed Kageyama by his head and pushed it down.

"Bow when you apologize to your superiors, you no good bastard." He growled before pushing Kageyama away and entering the bathroom behind him. Kageyama hit the wall heavily before going down the hall and into his room. Upon entering the room, he pulled on a pair of boxers and a red shirt that said 'Bluster's Real Ice Cream' on it. He collapsed on the bed and looked at the clock. He had about an hour before he needed to leave and go to work for the night. He looked around the almost bare room. One wouldn't be surprised to see the room of a kid packed up and ready to leave home as bare, but in Kageyama's situation the only things he physically owned was his Kitagawa Daichii uniform, his work clothes, a few pairs of jeans, an mp3 player, and a few free t-shirts advertising various venues. That and his volleyball stuff. He owned very little, but he didn't mind. He didn't find possessions to be very important in the long run, and preferred to use his money buying necessary items, like clothes and food. He had just purchased a cell phone online to take with him to his new school in the hopes of making friends and was awaiting it eagerly as it would be one of his first possessions that was not a clothing item or volleyball related.

Kageyama yawned and set his alarm clock to wake him up in 45 minutes. He relied on cat-naps like these to get through the week. His schedule was very hectic. He got up at 5 am and was at school by 6 for morning practice. School started at 8, and ended at 330, and then he went to afternoon practice until 5. Afterwards he would go to work and work 6 until midnight. This left him extremely tired most of the time, and left him with very little time to study. It did effectively keep him out of the house most of the time, which was one of his main goals. Exhausted, Kageyama succumbed to the emptiness of sleep.

"Beep. Beep. Beep", Kageyama's alarm blared loudly. Kageyama stretched and yawned, longing to stay in bed all night. He had been lucky enough that volleyball practice was over and he could catch some sleep, but realized that he had better get up. He really needed his job to support him until he could get a new job at his new high school next week, and so every shift was vital for his savings account. Fortunately, it was his last shift. Kageyama sat up and picked up the black pants that had been perfectly folded on the corner of his bed (the only piece of furniture in the room). He slipped them on, along with his socks and converses. He grabbed his visor (the annoying red one that every Blusters worker had to wear) and his wallet before rushing out of the door.

The air was cold and brisk, it being December and all. He was glad he had grabbed his coat on the way out. It was about a 20 minute walk from his house to the Bluster's he worked at, and he would not have enjoyed that walk in a t-shirt. Kageyama slipped on some headphones and began to blast alternative rock into his ears as he walked towards his place of work. He kept his head down as he walked, avoiding eye contact and trying not to bring attention to himself. None of his school mates in high school or in college had known he worked at an ice cream store and he would prefer to keep it that way.

He arrived at work quickly and clocked in. He was working with Eddie, a boy that he was sure was constantly high. He had offered Kageyama weed once, and he had almost agreed until he remembered that volleyball was his only shot at getting out of his house. He wouldn't want something as stupid as a failed drug test to ruin his chances at getting a scholarship.

"Hey Tobio-chan!" Eddie called out, waving. Kageyama huffed and looked away.

"How many times have I told you, I would prefer that you call me Kageyama." He replied before opening the order window.

"Huh, and so enters the King." Eddie commented before turning towards the window. "Welcome to Bluster's! Can I interest you in an ice cream sundae for half off today?" Eddie had a customer to distract him, but no one had approached Kageyama's window yet. He shot Eddie a warning glare about the 'King' comment, but let it go and began restocking the toppings by the blast and milkshake machines.

"Kageyama, there's a customer at your window." Eddie called out. Kageyama turned and walked towards the window, carefully maneuvering around ice cream cabinets. Upon reaching the window, Kageyama began pulling napkins out from under his counter and placed them up on top.

"Welcome to Bluster's, where the Ice Cream is made fresh daily. How can I help you?" He asked without having looked up yet.

"Wow, this is a special treat. I've never been served by royalty before." A very familiar voice commented smugly. Kageyama's head shot up. Standing before him was Tooru Oikawa, his former senpai from Kitagawa Daichii's volleyball team, and a girl that Kageyama assumed was his newest toy. He always was a ladies man.

"Hello, Oikawa." Kageyama greeted awkwardly and then nodded to the girl he was with. "Hello."

"Oh, allow me to introduce you two. Kageyama, this is Nagisa. Nagisa, this is the fallen "king of the court", Kageyama." Oikawa introduced the two. They both nodded at each other.

"Nagisa, why don't you decide what you want while I talk to Kageyama here." Oikawa prodded. She smiled and walked back to look at the menu posted above the window.

"You know, I never expected to find you here of all places. I mean, you haven't exactly been a part of the volleyball world recently. You just fell off the face of the planet." Oikawa smiled,

"Of course, every King's reign must end at some point. But to see that you've fallen so low is just ridiculous. What are you now? A peasant?" He laughed. Kageyama scowled.

"I've been focusing on my studies rather than sports." Kageyama retorted. Oikawa laughed even harder.

"Oh please! If I know you, which I feel confident that I do, you got denied from every school you applied to because of your reputation as being a dictator. I bet you are going to some local state school, and playing volleyball at some recreation center that occaisionally has skirmishes with other, equally shitty recreation centers." Kageyama ground his teeth.

"I can tell by your face that I've hit the nail on the head. Oh poor poor Kageyama. Why are you working here, though? Could it be that you can't afford the local school, peasant?" Oikawa teased.

"No, I'm working here so that I can go to Karasuno next semester." Kageyama growled, "When I get back on a team that can apply for inter-high tournaments, we will see who is a peasant."

"Karasuno, eh? I've heard of them. The un-flying crows they call them. You do remember that you can't play volleyball all by yourself right? I would have thought the final game of junior high would have taught you that lesson. Of course, you do strike me as being the dense type, so I may be expecting too much from you."

Seething, Kageyama clenched his fists under the counter and tried to calm himself. He could literally hear crackles emanating from his body, fueled by rage.

"Look, Oikawa. Are you going to buy anything or are you only here to harass me?" Kageyama asked.

"Like I said, I was surprised to find you working here, so your accusation that I _purposely _came here to harass you is completely unfounded. But I guess I will order something. Nagisa, are you ready?"

She nodded and whispered something to Oikawa. He smiled,

"How about we get two extra-large, extra-thick, chocolate milkshakes?" Oikawa asked, feigning innocence. Kageyama silently cursed him. He had to know that the large milkshake blast shield was broken and that it would splatter everywhere. Kageyama sighed and went to struggle with the two shakes.

10 minutes and a lot of mess later, Kageyama brought two perfectly made chocolate milkshakes to the waiting couple.

"Here you go" he handed the ice cream over. Oikawa snickered at Kageyama's ice cream covered shirt and handed him a bill. Kageyama's scowl deepened and he got Oikawa his change.

"Have a nice night." Kageyama forced as Oikawa waved over his back.

"Bye Bye, future King of Crows!" He sang. "Nice hat, by the way!"

Kageyama let out a sigh. Some people never change.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Another edited chapter :)

I'm working on the third one right now! That's when the KageHina will begin to take root.

* * *

"Oh man, did you see Kageyama's face when he saw that ball bounce?" Kindaichi chuckled, "It was priceless!"

The previous members of Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High's volleyball team were all at Tooru Oikawa's house, gleefully celebrating the last week of Christmas break before their third semester began. This involved sake, Saporro, and pizza, slouching over the two couches in the den, and watching a cheesy old vampire movie and talking about memories of their junior high.

"That was kinda mean, you know." Iwaizumi commented.

"Yeah, but he deserved it. Always thinking he was better than the rest of us." Oikawa sneered. "You won't believe where I saw him though."

"Where?!" Kindaichi asked, with a voice that sounded like someone aching for gossip.

"He works at that Bluster's down the street from the mall. He has been attending the local high school and claims that he is going to Karasuno for the next semester."

"Yeah, whatever team takes him is cursed to fail." Kindaichi laughed and took another swig of beer, "Aobajousai saw that and denied him. That's why he is at the local school. But why is he working?"

"It turns out that his family isn't well off and he is working to pay for himself to go to Karasuno."

"Curse Kageyama. Acting like he was better than the rest of us, and he is nothing more than a lower class peasant."

"That would be fun." Kunimi commented mysteriously. Oikawa snorted in disbelief,

"Are you saying you'd like to be poor and hypocritical?" Kunimi shook his head,

"No, I mean cursing Kageyama would be fun. My uncle is friends with a Tengu and he curses people sometimes."

"You mean the crazy uncle that lives in the woods and always talks to himself? Have you ever seen one of his curses work? Or even met his Tengu friend?" Oikawa asked.

"Nah. I don't believe in that kind of thing, really. But it would be fun to release our anger at him in some way. Plus, if it does work, it would knock him down a few levels." Kunimi pointed out. "It can be like a party game."

"I'm in!"Kindaichi called out raising his hand. Oikawa nodded,

"Me too. It will be fun." The three boys look over at Iwaizumi, who looked at the ground, nervously shuffling his feet.

"Do I have to? I mean, I didn't like Kageyama either, but cursing him seems like a bit much."

Kunimi placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Don't worry. Nothing is going to really happen. It's just for fun."

"I guess….I guess I'm in…" Iwaizumi stuttered. Oikawa smiled.

"Alright, so how do we do this?"

Kunimi pulled a book out of his backpack.

"I've been reading this book I stole from my uncle's library. It has a curse to turn someone into a were-beast. It says we can substitute the creature with anything, real or fake, that we can imagine."

"I know just the thing!" Oikawa ran upstairs and came down with a poster.

"Karasu, the King of Carrion!" He smiled, showing the picture, "Part of my sister's magical creatures collection!" The picture depicted a creature that looked a bit like a feathery cat with wings. The snout was one of a fox, as were the front paws, and the wings were those of a crow. The tail, ears, and body were those of a cat, but there was a ridge of feathers that flowed down from the nape of the neck along the spine until it met the tip of the tail, where a small gathering of slightly longer feathers extended outwards.

Kindaichi read out the description under the picture,

"'Karasu: The Demon Crow; AKA the King of Carrion, the King of Crows, King of the Night

Karasu is a black creature resembling a housecat, except the presence of wings and slightly longer tail with feathers. This creature is extremely clever and independent, possessing genius intellect, excellent awareness of surroundings to the point where it feels like the creature is reading one's mind, and a sense of superiority. It is said to be found in graveyards, feeding on the flesh of recent victims, however this tends to be regarded as an urban myth compared to the original mythology of the beast, which states that Karasu was most often found in forests, where it would protect the creatures of which it was composed: Foxes, Crows, and Cats. According to myth, Karasu was created by accident when a witch tried to sacrifice thousands of creatures with magical potential in order to summon a demon. Unfortunately, the souls of those thousand creatures combined into one soul, and with that strength, created a new body with which it murdered the witch. This creature has become associated with bad luck, and it is from this creature that the myths of black cats being bad luck originated….'

….That sounds perfect!"

"So is it decided?" Kunimi queried. All heads nodded, albeit Iwaizumi nodded only half-heartedly.

"Ok, so sit in a circle around the table. Oikawa do you have a pen and paper, and a candle?" Oikawa ran upstairs and came down with a pen and a sketchpad, along with a lighter and a bunch of green birthday candles. Kunimi grabbed a paper, drew a magic circle of some sort on it, using the book for reference. Finished, he placed it on the table. He then melted the bottom of one of the candles and stuck it onto the paper in the middle of the circle, lighting it in the process.

"When I stop reading, you need to imagine Karasu in your head and blow out all of your hatred of Kageyama into the flame. If the flame goes out, then the curse failed. If it stays lit, the Tengu has heard our prayers and placed the curse on Kageyama. Fair enough?" Kunimi asked. Everyone nodded and started staring at the candle.

"Tengu, please hear our calls." Kunimi calls out and begins reading aloud in a language none of the boys had heard before. After a few moments, he stopped reading and nodded to the boys. They inhaled deeply and all blew at the candle. The candle flickered and almost went out, but managed to remain lit through the bombardment of wind.

"Well, I guess it worked, considering the flame stayed lit." Oikawa commented. Kunimi shook his head.

"I don't think this kind of stuff is real. It was just a fluke."

"That was so COOOOLLL!" Kindaichi fisted the air. "I feel better already!"

Iwaizumi remained silent, fearful for what they had just done.

* * *

Kageyama was in the shower when it hit him. He felt a cold chill flow through his body and then he felt all of the air leave his body as if he was hit by a car. He collapsed to the floor as he gasped for breath with which to scream. He felt something like a snake slithering underneath his skin, and his entire body felt like he was being stabbed. Finally he managed to get enough air to scream as he felt multiple somethings rip the skin of his back, pulling muscle out behind it. The pain was so intense that he passed out shortly thereafter.

Kageyama awoke to the feel of the shower, now cold, spraying water over his body. His entire body ached, like he had been working out for too long without stretching, and his back felt like how he imagined a lashing would. As he pushed himself up onto his hands, he saw blood trailing off of his body and down the shower drain. There was a fair bit of it.

"Did I slip in the shower?" He wondered. He pulled himself to a standing position, and felt something heavy on his back. Reaching back he felt something feathery that seemed to be attached. It also appeared to be the thing that was causing him the most pain. Kageyama felt his vision become spotty as his body threatened to pass out again from the pain and blood loss.

Kageyama hissed as he stood up and dragged his bloody, beaten body to the full size mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Looking into it, he did a double-take. His appearance had changed dramatically.

His ears had become cat ears, flicking back in forth as if they had a mind of their own. His eyes also changed, but not too noticeably. They just looked….deeper and older. Opening his mouth he realized that he had sharper teeth. Even his hair, which normally had no body and hung around his head limply, suddenly looked feathery and would curl up slightly at the ends.

The biggest changes were not those of the face and ears, however. From behind his shoulders, Kageyama could see a black feathery item protruding from both sides, probably the thing he had just pulled on, causing a gush of blood down his backside and down…his tail?

He now had a long, cat-like feathery tail that was swishing behind him.

"What…happened to me?" Kageyama wondered, too shocked to even move. He tried to recall everything. One minute he was in the shower, and the next he was on the ground, bleeding and with new extremities. He somehow now had feathers…

Kageyama turned sideways to get a better view of his back. There were black feathers trailing down his back, from his hairline and down his spine to the base of his new tail. Also, the two feathery things that Kageyama had pulled on were wings; large black wings. The area around where they protruded was bleeding, which explained all of the blood everywhere. He suddenly had the urge to lick himself. The smell of the blood was delicious.

What had happened to him? It has to be a dream. Kageyama stepped back into the shower and rinsed the blood off of his body. He then put on a t-shirt and boxers, trapping the wings under the shirt, but pulling the tail out of the top of the boxers. The shirt started to get stained with blood, but Kageyama didn't care. It was a dream, after all. He left the bathroom, mess and all, and entered his room, where he curled up on the bed, chest first. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

When Kageyama woke up, he immediately smelled blood. Sitting straight up, he looked at the bed and saw blood everywhere. Suddenly remembering his dream, he looked for signs of wings or a tail, but saw nothing. There were, however, sharp pains on his back. Running to the bathroom, there were feathers and blood everywhere, but his ears were almost normal, albeit pointier. Perhaps most importantly there were no feathers. The only indication that anything had happened (other than the blood and feathers on the ground) were the pointed ears, the canines being sharper, the eyes looking different, and his hair being slightly feathery. Also, his back had two long scabs across the shoulders that sent pain shooting across his body.

"It wasn't a dream?" He wondered. In the other room, his alarm went off. That's right, today was the first day of his new school. He had to get ready for class. Why did this have to happen today of all days?

Kageyama stepped into the shower and began to wash himself. Everything was wrong. He suddenly felt extreme dislike for the water he had never felt before. It just felt so gross. The shampoo and soap also smelled too strong, even though it was unscented. It was like his senses had been heightened to a point where everything made him uncomfortable. He finish the shower quickly, brushed his teeth and towel dried his hair before throwing on his school uniform and running into the room for food. He was currently living in a dorm temporarily, and had an en-suite bathroom connected to a pretty small bedroom that contained a bed, a mini fridge, a microwave, and a desk. Kageyama opened the fridge and looked at what he had. All that was there was some ground beef (for spaghetti, the only thing other than rice he could really afford) and eggs. Kageyama's mouth watered at the thought of eating the meat and eggs raw. It was like he couldn't hold back as he reached in and grabbed a handful of ground beef with one hand, and an egg in another. He knew that what he was doing was gross, but he couldn't help it. He was so hungry and could not control himself.

He shoved the ground beef into his mouth, swallowing it almost without chewing as he made embarrassing noises, almost a mix between a purr and a chirp. After polishing off the ground beef, he bit into the egg, chewing on the shell while egg dripped down his face. He shoved the second half of the egg into his mouth chewing it and swallowing it quickly. Letting the yolk flow down his throat, he rubbed the excess off his face and licked it off his hand.

Realizing what he had just done, Kageyama suddenly felt sick. What if he got salmonella from that? Or a parasite? He couldn't understand why that had felt so good.

Kageyama looked up at the clock and ran upstairs to wash the remains off of his face. After thoroughly scrubbing his face, he dried it in a fluffy towel and grabbed his school bag, cell phone, and winter gear, running out to the bus stop for his first day of Karasuno.


	3. Chapter 3

"Everyone, this is our new first year transfer student, Kageyama Tobio. Although it is late in the year, please be kind to him and help him adjust to the new school.

Kageyama looked around at his new school mates. They all seemed bored, except some of the girls were looking at him with the look of a predator. He always hated when girls looked at him like that, ugh.

The only exception to plethora of bored/predatory looks was the orange-haired, shrimpy boy in the back who was looking at Kageyama incredulously. Kageyama looked back. He was one of the boys Kageyama had yelled at that junior high match. He had said something about him wasting three years instead of practicing, and it seemed the boy remembered as well.

"Kageyama, go sit in the empty desk by Hinata, the redhead in the back." The professor commanded. Kageyama nodded and walked to the back of the class, trying to avoid looking at the glare he was receiving from this 'Hinata' kid.

"I really should apologize…" Kageyama thought to himself as he sat down and pulled 2 juice boxes out of his bag.

"Hey, Hinata right?" Kageyama started. Hinata practically growled at him.

"Hey King, if you're here to brag about your skills and tell me I'm wasting my time, then you had better turn around and go right back to where you came from. I don't need to hear it from you."

Kageyama was taken aback by the hatred in those words.

"I…um. Here." Kageyama tossed the juice box onto Hinata's desk, slightly blushing and looking up towards the teacher like nothing had happened. Hinata looked at Kageyama suspiciously, like he was going to poison him or something. He didn't touch the juice until Kageyama pushed the straw through his and took a big sip. After affirming that it was not, in fact, poisoned, Hinata too pushed the straw through the box and drank deeply. Kageyama felt himself get warm knowing that his apology had been somewhat accepted.

When lunchtime finally rolled around, Kageyama sat by himself with his tray of food. There was Onigiri and some salad, along with some sort of curry and Miso soup. The dessert was a cookie, and of course he had bought himself a juice to drink. The cafeteria was loud and smelly, and Kageyama was NOT a fan of loud and smelly places even before his senses suddenly spiked. Feeling very out of place, he decided to eat as fast as possible and then go to the library or outside to get away from the crowds. Suddenly, Hinata sat next to him.

"Hey." He said, placing his tray across from Kageyama.

"Um, hey…" Kageyama replied, nervously. He had never had someone choose to sit next to him before at lunch. Of course, he had never really been very open to other people and tended to exude an air of solidarity that most would not dare to approach. Of course, this Hinata kid didn't seem to mind.

"So…thanks for the juice. I'm sorry that I said those things to you on your first day. " Hinata managed to choke out. Kageyama nodded,

"Yeah, uh, I'm…..sorry….. for making fun of you last year." He replied.

"Apology accepted!" Hinata suddenly broke out into a smile. Kageyama tried to smile back, but to no avail.

"Ugh, I like your scowl better. You look evil when you try to smile." Hinata teased. Kageyama growled,

"That's my natural face, Idiot!" Hinata just stuck his tongue out. Suddenly a face popped out from behind Kageyama and glared towards him.

"Hinata! Is this boy giving you trouble?" Tanaka asked with what looked like it was supposed to be an intimidating snarl on his face, but it only ended up making him look stupid. Even without the strange keening noise he was making in the backround. Another boy walked up and slammed a book on Tanaka's almost bald head.

"Tanaka, stop it." Daichii ordered before sitting at the head of the table. Sugawara sat next to Daichii and Tanaka joined them, sitting next to Hinata and shooting Kageyama threatening looks whenever he thought Daichii was not looking (of course, Diachii saw him and would kick him under the table every now and then to remind him to be polite).

"Hey, you are the new kid that applied for our team, right? Kageyama Tobio?" Daichii asked. Kageyama nodded,

"How did you know that?" He asked. Daichii laughed,

"There was a picture in your file. I'm Daichii Sawamura,the captain of the volleyball club. This is Koshi Sugawara, setter, and this…..(here Daichii kicks Tanaka under the table for snarling again)….is Ryunosuke Tanaka, Spiker. You seem to have already met Shoyo Hinata, our decoy."

Kageyama nodded towards each of them. Sugawara was looking at Kageyama with an inquisitive look that made Kageyama feel a little awkward.

"You don't eat much, do you?" Sugawara asked. Kageyama looked at his plate. He had eaten the rice and some of the salad, but the rest was just unappetizing to him.

"Oh…uh I don't eat curry. I'm allergic to most seasonings." He replied. Sugawara nodded,

"Ok, how about we trade. You can have my rice and salad in exchange for your curry and soup."

Kageyama agreed and the trade was made. Hinata, feeling put out, asked to trade his onigiri for Kageyama's cookie, but Daichii refused to let him.

"You need to eat healthy for practice. You can't just give away all your healthy food and eat junk food." Hinata sighed and began to eat his onigiri. Kageyama put his cookie on a napkin and slid it over to Hinata anyway.

"You can have it if you want it. No trade necessary." Hinata immediately brightened and Daichii shook his head in defeat. Sugawara was still looking at Kageyama intensely.

"Your ears are pointy!" Hinata called out with a mouthful of cookie. Kageyama sat up straighter with a guilty look,

"What? No they aren't. They're just normal. Why are you looking at my ears anyway?!" He responded. Hinata shook his head and shrugged.

"I don't know, I just noticed them. And they are pointy, like elf ears or something."

"I don't think they are that bad. You have that trait that gives you slightly pointed ears, don't you?" Sugawara questioned. Kageyama nodded (better just go with that).

"Yeah, they've been like that forever." He responded. Hinata didn't look convinced.

"So are you thinking you're cooler than us just because of your…Ouch!" Tanaka was cut off by a sharp kick from Daichii. Kageyama looked down at the table.

Daichii cleared his throat.

"Well, I think we are going to go work on our group project for next period in the library until lunch is over. You two enjoy the rest of lunch." He said, standing up with his tray. Suga and Tanaka followed suit.

"It was nice to meet you, Kageyama." Sugawara said. Daichii nodded. Tanaka pointed two fingers at his eyes and then pointed them at Kageyama, but stopped when Daichi stomped on his foot.

"Ouch! What was that for!" He called out on the way through the door.

"Stop intimidating the first years!" Daichi replied. After they were gone, Hinata smiled at Kageyama.

"So what do you like to do in your free time?" Hinata asked, "I like to play volleyball, eat, and ride my bike around." Kageyama shrugged,

"I like volleyball too. I also like sleep." He replied.

"That sounds boring! Sleep is something you LIKE to do? I hate going to sleep because I could be having fun instead, but then I get all like "aww" and "yawn" and then the fun is over."

"Geez, this kid seems to have a lot of energy…." Kageyama thought.

"I don't have a lot of free time. I do school, then Volleyball, then I would usually have a job that I would work at until late. So when I had free time, I would try to catch up on missed sleep."

"OOOOH you had a job before?! Was it fun?" Hinata asked, excitedly. Kageyama shook his head.

"Nah, it was a pretty bad job. But it paid ok so that's all that really matters."

"You shouldn't think about it like that. If the job isn't fun then it is a waste of time. I mean, it doesn't have to be fun all the time, but you should look back at it and think that it was a good job. If you don't think you would be able to look back on something and think of it fondly then you really shouldn't do it." Hinata replied.

"Have you ever heard of 'Work hard, Play hard'?" Kageyama asked. Hinata nodded.

"That's what I try to do."

Hinata frowned,

"Well you should work hard and play hard, but enjoy both not neither." Hinata said. Kageyama scowled,

"What do you mean?"

"When I first met you, you didn't look like you were enjoying volleyball. You were always mad. If that is what play is to you, then you're confused. If you're mad about your play, and you aren't happy about your work, then what is the point of doing anything?" Hinata said.

"You don't understand anything." Kageyama replied, tartly. Hinata shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm going to go back to the classroom." With that, Hinata stood up with his tray and left Kageyama all alone.

"Did I just make him mad?" Kageyama wondered.


	4. Chapter 4

After his first day of school was over, Kageyama began looking for the Volleyball practice gym. There were 3 gyms at Karasuno, and so finding the right one took him a few minutes. During that time, he had to escape from 3 girls that were following him around creepily. Kageyama did not understand what girls saw in him. He didn't think he was overly attractive at all. He also didn't understand why others found girls attractive. He had never really found them to be very interesting. Of course, Kageyama was a rather shy person except when he was on the court. When he was playing volleyball, his entire personality would change, and not necessarily for the better, as he had discovered in junior high.

Kageyama was lost in thought when he finally found the gym. Inside, Hinata was running around, bouncing balls off his arms in all directions while trying to hit them, receive style. Honestly, he was as bad as Kageyama remembered. He sighed and pulled his ear phones out before walking towards Hinata.

"Hey, where are the changing rooms?" He asked nonchalantly. Hinata pointed,

"They are over there! The rest of the team is inside." Kageyama nodded his thanks and walked into the room Hinata had just pointed at. Inside were a bunch of boys changing into volleyball practice clothes. Kageyama nodded their directions and tried to head to the back of the changing room, but Daichii saw him and pulled him back.

"Everyone, this is Kageyama Tobio. He is joining the team as a setter. Please make him feel welcome."

"If he is welcoming, then maybe. But I hear that the 'King' is little more than a dictator on court." A tall curly haired blond boy commented from the other side of the locker rooms. He slipped on his white shirt, put on his glasses, and sneered at Kageyama. Daichii shook his head, frustrated.

"Look, Tsukishima. If I have to tell you to be nice to your teammates again…." Tsukishima made a disgusted face and grabbed his water bottle as he left the room.

"Yeah, whatever. I got it" he commented on his way out. He was followed by a dark-haired boy that called out after him to wait.

"That was Kei Tsukishima, middle blocker and first year, same as you. The one who follows him around like a lost puppy is Tadashi Yamaguchi, same year. Those two are really the bullies of the team. Don't mind them." Daichii explained. Kageyama nodded in response.

"Ok." He said.

"Hi, my name is Asahi Azumane" A huge person came up to Kageyama. Kageyama nodded at him and took the hand that was extended, shaking it.

"Asahi is our Ace, and a wing spiker. He looks scary, but he is a teddy bear." Daichii commented, getting awkward looks from Asahi as he chuckled. "The shorty over there is our libero, Yu Nishinoya," He added.

"Oi, who you calling shorty?!" Noya called out. Daichii laughed.

"Hi, nice to meet you. Don't worry, if a ball can be saved, I'll save it. I'll make sure you get lots of chances to toss to the setters!" Noya beamed proudly.

"Um…thank you." Kageyama replied, quietly.

"Do you ever smile? You've been frowning all day." A familiar voice called out. Hinata had snuck in without Kageyama noticing.

"Oh uh, no." He replied. Hinata shrugged,

"You're such a sour puss." Kageyama wasn't sure what to say in response. Daichii cut the two off,

"Kageyama, you should get changed. The rest of you, introduce yourselves to him when the time comes. I'm going to go get the gym set up." Daichii left, followed by the rest of the team, all of who had finished changing. Hinata stayed in the locker room with Kageyama.

"Aren't you going to go with the rest of the team?" Kageyama asked, curious. Hinata looked away.

"Daichii-senpai said I need to stay with you and that I'm supposed to teach you the ropes."

"I don't need a teacher. I can play volleyball without a tutor as bad as you." Kageyama commented, truthfully. Hinata growled,

"Hey! I don't need to waste my time with a dictator like you!"

"I'm not a dictator!"

"Well, I was trying to call you something else, but I thought if I added "–tator" at the end it would be less insulting. SOOOOORRY for trying to be considerate, King."

"Idiot! Stop calling me that!"

"King, King, KING!"

At this point, both boys were red-faced and growling. Kageyama was shirtless and holding a white shirt in one clenched fist, ready to deck Hinata with the other. Suddenly realizing the position he was in, fist raised and looking down at Hinata with rage, he stepped back. He realized if he got physical with the argument, he would be no better than his father. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of sweat that permeated the air, and turned around. Hinata wasn't happy.

"Hey! Don't turn around when I'm yelling at you!" He yelled. "Hey, you're bleeding…" he commented, no longer yelling. Kageyama's eyes went huge and he felt his back. Sure enough, the scabs were reopening, and he could feel his wings shifting underneath. Could it have been a response to his anger? He concentrated really hard and managed to calm them down. He hadn't realized how much effort it really took to control the wings until he had loosened his control on them during the argument. It was like he was constantly sucking in his abs as he walked, and it was exhausting to pull them and hold them in all day. When he got home, he would have to let them out for a little bit.

"Hey, don't you feel it? You're bleeding a lot! Where did you get those cuts? Did someone hit you with something or something?"

"No!" Kageyama hissed as Hinata reached out and touched the scars, getting blood on his fingers.

"Don't touch that." Kageyama snapped, fearful that Hinata may feel the wings directly below. Just then, Sugawara and Daichii walked in.

"Hey, we can hear you guys yelling in the court. Are you changed yet?" Daichii called in. Sugawara gasped,

"Oh my god, you're bleeding a lot! What are those scars?" He called out. Daichii's eyes got wide.

"I'll go get the medical kit."

"No it's…" Kageyama started, but Daichii had already run out. Crap, he didn't want a lot of people seeing the scars. What if someone guessed? No, he was being stupid. Who would guess that these scars were caused by wings? They'd rather believe he was undergoing some sort of abuse or something at home. That wasn't much better in his eyes, but at least it was a better alternative than people realizing he was a freak.

Sugawara, who had walked over to Kageyama, pushed Kageyama onto the bench to sit down.

"Hey, if there is anything going on, please don't hesitate to tell me or Daichii. We are here to support you. Here is my number if you want to talk later." Suga handed Kageyama a piece of paper and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. Kageyama nodded and took the paper.

"Wait…what's going onnnn!?" Hinata called out. Suga shook his head,

"Hinata, why don't you go out and help Daichii find the first aid kit?" Suga offered. Hinata nodded,

"Right!" he called as he ran out the room. Suddenly, a tall blond haired man came running in, followed by a few team members. Of course, Tsukishima was one of the ones to come in.

"Oh, did the king get a lashing? Poor baby."

"Shut up! It isn't like that…" Kageyama called out. Tanaka, another team member that had entered, ran over.

"Who do you want me to beat up for this?" He asked, making his snarling face. Kageyama pushed him away,

"No one did this. Go away, please." He said, curling his legs up to his chest. The blonde-haired man snapped at the rest of the team.

"Everyone, please leave us. That means you too, Sugawara. Thanks for your help."

Suga nodded and helped to usher everyone out of the gym rooms.

"Why did this have to happen to me?" Kageyama wondered silently to himself. Suddenly he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Kageyama. I'm Ukai Keishin. I'm the coach for the team. That makes me your coach too. So if there is something you need to talk about, you can come to me anytime. I know this may seem a little out of place, but welcome to the team. I'm sorry that this had to happen to you on your first day, but I don't think you can participate in practice when you are bleeding this much. You should really go see a doctor about these wounds." Kageyama, still curled in a ball, just looked at Coach Ukai. He was trying his best to hold back tears. It wasn't fair that this happened to him, and that this was the first impression he had made on the volleyball team.

"Do you want to tell me what caused the injury?" Ukai asked, worriedly. Kageyama shook his head.

Ukai shrugged.

"Alright, it's up to you with what you want to share. Please just keep your safety in mind." Just then, Daichii comes flying in with a large white box.

"I found the injury kit!" He called out, placing the box on the ground next to Kageyama. He sat on the bench next to Kageyama and began to use a disinfectant wipe on his back to clean up the blood. Kageyama hissed in pain, despite Daichii's attempt to be gentle. He then pulled out a type of gel medication that he applied to the scars before pulling out bandages and gauze. He put large, flat bandages on top of the scars themselves.

"Hey, do you mind putting your legs down so that I can wrap the gauze around your chest?" Daichii tapped Kageyama's knee. He nodded and planted his feet on the ground. Daichii took the gauze and wrapped it around Kageyama's back and chest, covering the scars. Then he used medical tape to tape down the gauze.

"You should really make sure that you see a doctor about this. It looks like the scratches are really deep." He said. Kageyama nodded,

"Yeah, ok."

Daichii smiled at Kageyama.

"Don't worry. You can participate in practice tomorrow. We won't be mad at you about this." Coach Ukai nodded in agreement,

"Yeah, if you would like, we can start over fresh tomorrow." Kageyama nodded.

"I think that I'm going to just go home…" He said. The two men nodded in agreement,

"Yeah go get some rest. We will see you tomorrow." Kageyama reached over and put on his school uniform, coat, and a dark blue scarf/ earmuff combo. He also slipped his headphones under the earmuff and began blasting music into his ears as he tried his best to walk out as dignified as possible. The entire team watched him as he walked out of the court in shame. He was sure none of them were actually feeling the way he imagined they did, but he couldn't help but feel like they did. Hinata came running towards him as he closed the gym door, but he ran as soon as he got outside and by the time Hinata got to the door, Kageyama was lost in the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Kageyama slammed the door to his dorm room as soon as he got home. He ran to the bathroom, tore off the bandages, and pushed the wings out. He allowed himself to fully transform and looked at himself in the mirror.

"I'm a freak." He said out loud to himself. "What happened to me?"

His reflection did nothing to reply to his question. He hissed at the mirror before pulling off his clothes. He took a pair of scissors and cut his boxers to allow the tail through and put them on, maneuvering the tail through the hole. He then decided to try moving the wings. He focused really hard on the area where he could feel their weight and imagined muscle and bone protruding from the area. By focusing really hard, he managed to stretch the wings out to full length. The wingspan was impressive. With his wings completely extended, he could not fit in the small bathroom. They had to be at least 17 feet. He wasn't exactly sure how they managed to fit under his skin, but of course there had to be some sort of magic at work in order for this transformation to have occurred, and so he assumed that it also extended to his ability to hide the transformation from others.

"What exactly am I?" Kageyama pulled the wings back in and pulled out the laptop he was borrowing from the library until he could buy his own. He typed in the search 'black wings, cat ears, long feathery tail' and began looking through the search results. First things that popped up were a bunch of costumes. Finally, he managed to find something that said 'Karasu'.

"Crow…." He thought to himself as he clicked on the link.

It pulled up an image of a black creature resembling a fox or a house cat with wings. He immediately knew that this is what he was. He felt a sense of kinsmanship, like an animal finding one of its own kind for the first time. He began to read the description.

"Karasu, the king of crows is a creature that originated in Ireland. The mythology claims that the beast was 'created' by a witch on accident. In an attempt to summon a demon, she sacrificed hundreds of cats, crows, and foxes; creatures that are considered to be inherently magical and are commonly associated with witchcraft and evil magicks. During the sacrifice, the souls of all of the sacrificed creatures conjoined to become one soul that was powerful enough to kill the witch. The soul used its great power to create a body for itself that resembled a chimera of the creatures sacrificed, calling itself Karasu, meaning 'crow'. According to symbolism, the fox composes Karasu's mouth and ears because of the foxes wit and silvery tongue. The cat composes Karasu's feet and tail, representing the skills at stealth Karasu possesses, and finally the crow's wings, giving Karasu dominance over the skies.

Karasu is commonly associated with bad luck, but according to the myth, Karasu actually served as a protector of the forest. He commanded the creatures of the forest and kept others out, although oftentimes if a human was lost in the woods Karasu would send a crow to show them out, preferring nonviolence to murderous intent. Karasu was also said to be a skillful healer, capable of saving someone on the verge of death. Many would leave gifts for Karasu and in exchange Karasu would heal their sick and wounded.

Karasu possessed extremely powerful magicks that allowed him to change his appearance and hide well. According to mythology, many could see Karasu and not realize it, as he transformed himself and the landscape around him to disguise himself from those who would wish him harm. The only way to find Karasu was to know his true name and image, and with that in mind search for him. Because no one knows Karasu's true name or form, it was an impossible feat.

Karasu has been seen as both a great evil and a great gift for centuries, depending on the version of the myth one knows and believes."

"This doesn't explain how I am this way though. Am I some sort of reincarnation? Is this a curse?" He wondered. "Do I have magical powers?"

He looked at his hands and then imagined his back, where the wings protruded. He imagined the scars healing and closing up. He felt a huge drain in his energy, then felt an enormous pain on his back, as if someone was tugging on the wound with a hook over and over again. Slowly though, the pain began to disappear and was replaced with a soothing warmth feeling. Kageyama felt himself being drained constantly of stamina as the process continued. Eventually, after about 5 minutes, he stopped feeling the pain of the wound and began to feel nothing at all. He stopped imagining the wound and instead got up to look in the bathroom mirror. In the mirror, he could see that the wound was no longer bleeding. In fact, apart from the wings protruding from the back, it looked just the same as before the transformation. Kageyama pulled in the wings. There were two very lightly colored scars where the wings would slip in and out, but there was no blood or pain. He pulled the wings back out, allowing his muscles to relax. He suddenly felt exhausted and crawled into bed. He curled up with his tail wrapping around his body and his wings stretching out to cover his body.

When Kageyama awoke, he had about a million messages on his phone from Hinata and Daichii asking if he was ok.

He had apparently slept for 3 days straight, without waking up at all.

"Crap!" He yelled as he got up and ran over to the window. The sun was out and it was snowing. He looked at the clock. If he hurried he could make it to school in time for volleyball practice. It didn't change the fact that he had missed school though.

"Dammit, what was that?! I slept all that time?!" Kageyama grabbed his gym bag, pulled in his transformation (this time painlessly) and threw on some sweatpants, a hoodie, and the rest of his winter gear. He grabbed his box of cereal bars on the way out the door and a water bottle, and began to run towards Karasuno. By the time he arrived at the bus stop, he had eaten 4 cereal bars, and was still hungry. By the time he arrived at the gym all of the cereal bars (12 in total) had been consumed, and he was still hungry. He drained his bottle and ran into the locker room. The entire team was in there.

"Look everybody, the whipping boy is back." Tsukishima sneered. Kageyama glared at him.

"Hey Kageyama! I've been calling you for the past three days?! Why weren't you in class?!" Hinata called out, running up to the tall raven. Kageyama shifted awkwardly,

"I was…uh…I had a cold." He said, blushing. He was a terrible liar. Hinata jumped back,

"Ahh! Are you contagious?!" he cried. Kageyama shook his head,

"Would I be here if I was, idiot?" He replied.

"Hey!" Hinata cried out at the use of the term 'idiot', "You know that only idiots catch colds!"

"Actually, the saying is 'idiots don't catch colds' Hinata." Noya commented. Hinata stuck his tongue out in Kageyama's direction. Kageyama huffed and looked away.

"I'm glad you could join us for practice," Daichii greeted Kageyama. "Coach Ukai wants to see you in the office, though." Kageyama gulped,

"Oh…okay…" He managed, nervously. Daichii laughed,

"Don't worry. You aren't in trouble."

Kageyama left the changing rooms and found the coach in the office down the hall.

"Um…you wanted to see me?" Kageyama asked. Ukai nodded.

"Yes, um I wanted to talk to you about your absences and the 'incident' that happened on Monday. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just had a cold, that's why I missed practice and school." Kageyama replied. Ukai looked unconvinced, but didn't pursue the matter of absences any further.

"How is your back?" Ukai asked.

"It's better. It doesn't hurt and it stopped bleeding." Kageyama replied succinctly.

"I'll let you practice with us today, but if I see you in any pain, you'll have to sit on the side. Ok?" Ukai offered. Kageyama nodded,

"Fair enough."

"Good, then go get changed. Practice is in 5 minutes." Kageyama bowed and ran to the locker rooms. He threw on his practice uniform and ran to the court, excited for his first practice at Karasuno.

During practice, Kageyama and Hinata bickered like nobody's business. They argued over every little thing, mostly about how Hinata sucked at volleyball but 'talked a big talk' as Kageyama put it. Hinata accused of Kageyama of being a dictator and an a** several times throughout the practice. Essentially the entire practice ended up being a brawl between the two more than anything else.

"Look you two, if you can't get along you both will have to sit on the sidelines." Daichii called out. "I want you and Kageyama to go outside and practice by yourselves, and until you get along you aren't allowed to play in any matches at all, got it?!"

"But…!" The two began to complain but were cut off by Coach Ukai,

"No complaints! Listen to your captain." The two looked ashamed and upset but bowed towards Ukai and walked out the door, mumbling curses and pushing each other all the way out the door.

When they got outside, Kageyama glared at Hinata,

"Look what you've done now!"

"Me?! You were the one being a jerk! I should've known that you hadn't changed! Giving me a juicebox didn't mean anything then!"

"Idiot! It was an apology, but honestly I take it back! You are the worst volleyball player I've seen. I mean who gets stuck in a net while trying to spike?! Come on!"

"It's only because I'm small enough to get tangled in it! You're like a giant black mountain, you can't get stuck in a net!"

"Just shut up, Hinata." Kageyama finished the argument and walked off towards the park that was down the road.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Hinata called out. Kageyama made a 'tsssk' noise before responding.

"I'm going to the park to practice. There is more space."

"I'm coming too!"

"No you're not. Go away."

"But you heard Daichii. If we don't practice together we can't play on the team!"

"No he said if we can't get along we can't play on the team. It doesn't matter if we practice together, I don't think I'll ever be able to get along with you. I won't toss to you in a game either. You suck at volleyball and you drag the team down, but you won't admit it! That's what annoys me about you. You act all cool and like you are so good, and say that you want to be the ace, but you have no skill. It's irritating!" Kageyama snapped out, storming off and leaving Hinata standing by the gym as he walked away.

Kageyama arrived at the park and laid down on the grass, which crunched underneath him as it was frozen. He began tossing the ball up into the air and catching it repeatedly. Suddenly, he heard a quiet rustling. It was something he would not have noticed before his transformation, but now that his hearing was so much better he heard a lot of things he wouldn't have earlier. Following the rustling, he heard a quiet 'caw'. It was a baby crow, he somehow knew. He got up and walked in the direction of the sound, where he found an injured crow-ling in the grass. Its wing was bent awkwardly backwards and it looked like it was in pain. The crow showed no fear as Kageyama approached it. Instead, it almost seemed glad to see him. Kageyama picked it up and placed two fingers on the wing, imagining how a healthy wing should look.

"Kageyama! Hey idiot! I want to practice too but you took the ball!" A voice called out. Kageyama ignored it. Hinata was looking for him, obviously. Hinata found the volleyball and picked it up. He looked over to where Kageyama was.

"Kage-idiot. What are you doing?!" He called out before running over.

"Shit…" Kageyama thought. There was a slight golden glow around the crow's wing, a sign of magic that Hinata can't be allowed to see. But if he broke his concentration he may not be able to fix the wing, which for some reason he felt himself unable to do. Fortunately, before Hinata made it over to Kageyama, he finished the healing. The crow cawed its thanks and flew off. Hinata saw it fly away.

"Karasu!" He called out, his hand reaching in the air in the crows direction.

"What did you say?!" Kageyama breathed out nervously, wondering why Hinata had just said that.

"It means 'crow', idiot. That's what our school is named after."

"That's right!" Kageyama thought silently, "I wonder if that is a coincidence?"

"Anyway, what are you doing over here?" Hinata asked. Kageyama shook his head.

"Nothing. I guess we can go practice." He replied. Hinata smiled,

"Alright! I'll show you that I'm not as bad at volleyball as you think!"


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry for the long time between uploads! I've been so busy doing midterms and then I didn't have internet over my spring break! ERGH! But yeah here it is. It's kinda short, but I'm still typing so the next chapter should be up soon! Love and hugs 3

~Daeneyr

During his practice with Hinata, Kageyama increasingly found himself distracted. He felt his eyes drooping and was having difficulty staying awake. Could it have something to do with the fact that he had just healed the crow? Come to think of it, he had just slept for 3 days after healing himself…would he have to do it again?

"Hey, Baka-Yama!" Hinata called out. Kageyama looked up…just in time to get hit in the face with a ball Hinata had just spiked in his direction. At least he had a lot of force, he would give him that.

"What…did…you…just…say?!" Kageyama snapped his face back up and glared at Hinata, a trickle of blood trailing from his nose. He began to slowly storm over. Hinata made a squeaky 'eep' noise, and began to back away.

"It's just…you weren't looking…and…" Hinata started. Kageyama had reached him now and was towering over him, his face in Hinata's.

"And what?" Kageyama growled. Hinata continued to look away. "Look at me!"

Hinata turned to look at Kageyama, and at the same moment Kageyama's head jerked forward and their lips met. A volleyball, which had ricocheted off of Kageyama's head, rolled across the park. Kageyama and Hinata jumped apart, rubbing their lips and making disgusted noises.

"Yo." A voice called out smugly. Kageyama glared at the source of the voice (which was Tsukishima, looking very pleased with himself)

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Tsukishima, you're an ass. What do you want?!" Kageyama hissed. Tsukishima snickered,

"Hey, King. You have a nosebleed after kissing you little friend there. Are you gay?"

"Shut up Tsukishima. I asked you a question."

"Sorry, your highness." Tsukishima bowed, ostentatiously. "My liege, I have been sent by Sir Ukai, to retrieve both your royal highness and your bitch."

"Hey! I'm not a bitch!" Hinata barked. Kageyama was seething with anger from Tsukishima's teasing, but rather than get violent, he just turned on his heels and walked towards the gym.

"Let's go, HInata." Kageyama called back. Hinata ran towards him,

"Don't tell me what to do!" He yelled.

* * *

After changing in the locker rooms (Kageyama changed in a stall to avoid unwanted stares at his back), Kageyama walked out the front door of the gym, music blasting. Hinata came flying out of the locker room and right at him, yelling at him to wait. Tanaka pointedly made a kissy face at him and laughed. Kageyama blushed and looked towards the orange haired boy running across the court.

"What do you want?" He deadpanned. Hinata smiled,

"Can we walk together?!"

"Uh…sure." Kageyama pulled his headphones out and dangled them around his neck as they began to walk towards the dorms.

"What are you listening to?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Music."

"No shit, Sherlock." Hinata scowled, "I mean what song? It's really loud."

Kageyama made a 'tssk' noise.

"It's called A Fear of Being Alone, by The Exies."

"Can I listen?" Hinata begged. Kageyama pulled down a headphone and gave it to Hinata.

"A beating heart,

A memory,

I'm not alone,

Will I ever be,

Happy?

Tell me why,

I'm paralyzed,

Underneath,

Surrender my serenity

Hoping one day that I

Will feel alive

Just like you"

"This sounds depressing." Hinata sighed and handed the headphone back. "Is all your music like this?"

"Pretty much. But I don't think it sounds depressing. It makes me happy." Kageyama retorted.

"Is that your favorite song?" Hinata question, looking straight ahead.

Kageyama nodded,

"Yeah, It's one of them."

There was an awkward pause, broken only by Kageyama yawning, before Hinata spoke again.

"Do you have one?" Hinata asked, quietly. Kageyama was confused.

"Have what?"

"A fear of being alone. Do you have one?"

"No. I like to be alone."

"Why do you like to be alone?" Hinata looked confused, "It's boring."

"I'm used to it. I've been alone most of my life, so yeah."

"That must be why you got abandoned by your volleyball team in Junior High. You tried to play Volleyball alone."

"Yeah." Kageyama's voice cracked. Hinata looked shocked that Kageyama so openly admitted a flaw in his personality.

"Do you think you would like company, if you got used to it?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

There was another break in the conversation, this one lasting several minutes until the two boys arrived at the bus stop.

"Tomorrow after school, meet me by the gym. There is no practice, and my mom is cooking a huge meal. You should come." Hinata stepped on the bus, leaving Kageyama confused as the bus drove off.

* * *

Kageyama was in class the next day. The healing of the bird resulted in him sleeping 12 hours, but that was nothing compared to the previous healing process. The day seemed to fly by quickly, and Kageyama found himself feeling slight anxiety at the prospect of going home with Hinata. He had never been to a friend's house before. What if his parent's didn't like him? Or what if he made a fool of himself or did something rude? But despite his nervousness he realized that he was really excited to be invited to do something by a teammate. Perhaps it meant he hadn't f*cked up by choosing to attend Karasuno.

After the bell rang announcing the end of the school day, Kageyama felt his heart beating quickly as he walked towards the gym. Was it too late to cancel? He had a lot of homework maybe he could come up with an excuse on that account. Or maybe he could pretend he was sick. No he had just had a "cold" he couldn't be sick that quickly. He wasn't even sure why exactly he felt so much anxiety. He wanted to go to have dinner, but at the same time it put him out of his comfort zone, and he wasn't sure how much he liked that. He also wondered what Hinata's parents were like. What if they were like his parents? Kageyama was so caught up in his anxiety, he was surprised to find himself at the door to the practice gym. Hinata wasn't there yet. Kageyama looked around and sat down on the ground to wait. He focused on regulating his breathing, which had grown erratic while he had been walking.

"Hey, Kageyama!" he heard a voice call out. Looking, Kageyama saw 2 of his fangirls running over in his direction. He jumped up quickly and ran around the side of the gym to where the boys locker room was. The window to the locker room was always unlocked, and the team used it to avoid Daichii if they were late. He dove into the locker room, ignoring the looks he got from the sports team that was changing in there at the moment, and shut the door.

The girls walked right past the window without looking in. Kageyama sat down on the bench and pulled out his phone to text Hinata.

"Hey." A familiar voice called out. Kageyama looked at the source of the voice. Hinata smiled.

"I saw you run around the side of the building and figured this is where you would hide."

"Uh…yeah." Kageyama jumped up and ran over to Hinata, who had started walking out of the locker room.

"Your fangirls are gone, by the way." Hinata commented on how jumpy Kageyama was while he surveyed the gym.

"Oh." He replied.

"Why did you run away from them? They looked cute."

"I'm not interested." Kageyama blushed.

"In girls or just those girls?"

"Uh…in anyone really."

"So no girls?"

"No. I don't find them attractive."

"They'd be crushed to hear you say that." Hinata sighed, "An even if you are gay, you're lucky. Most guys wish they had a flock of girls surrounding them all the time."

"Why do you think I'm gay?!" Kageyama blustered. "Just because I'm not interested in girls…"

"I don't know. I just feel like you are."

"Hmmm. I'm not."

"Ok. Sorry." There was an awkward silence as the boys walked towards Hinata's house.

"So what is your mom making?" Kageyama finally broke the silence. Hinata shrugged,

"I'm not entirely sure. She told me I should invite a friend over for dinner though because it was going to be a lot."

"Oh. Ok." Kageyama replied.

"Are you allergic to anything specific? I know you said you couldn't eat a lot of spices and I told my mom that but just in case…"

"I'm sure whatever she makes will be fine." Kageyama anwered. "I'm just grateful that I've been invited over."

"I'm glad you could come." Hinata replied, brightening up. "It's been ages since I had a friend over! Like, since last month when Kenma came to visit."

"Who?"

"Oh, the setter from Nekoma. He's awesome at videogames."

"Is he a good setter?" Kageyama questioned.

"He's really smart and observant. But not particularly fabulous at being a setter. Definitely not a 'genius' like you are."

"I'm not a genius." Kageyama replied.

"Oh yeah, and I'm not a shitty overall player. I've never even really played in a match before." Hinata's mood suddenly dropped. "Maybe you're right. I do talk a big talk, but I do suck."

"If you want, I will practice with you." Kageyama offered. "I need to get some practice in as well. It's been a year since I played volleyball before yesterday."

"I thought you said you would never toss to me." Hinata pinted out, bitterly. Kageyama blushed and looked away, muttering.

"What?" Hinata queried. Kageyama looked back at him,

"I…uh…I'm sorry. I was just angry and shouldn't have yelled at you."

Hinata looked at Kageyama for a while, searching for some hint of laughter or whatnot. Kageyama looked at him dead serious. Hinata broke out into laughter.

"Hahaha! You're face is hilarious when you are apologizing. You look like you're constipated or something."

"Baka! Come back here!" Kageyama yelled at the now sprinting Hinata. Hinata looked forward and stuck his tongue out.

"Come catch me, slowpoke!"


End file.
